In cooperation with the Society for New Music in celebration of their Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Season
Program:
Calling Together Joji Yuasa
(1973) (b.1929)
Students of Music 204
Students of Music 107
Piano pieces "Pandora's box" Masao Endo
(1995) (b.1947)
Mirzam
The mystic.......
St. Elmo's fire
Kazuko Tanosaki - piano
**AMERICAN PREMIERE**
Bunraku Toshiro Mayuzumi
(1961) (b.1929)
Hugh Livingston - cello
*Winner of the First Music of Japan Performers Competition*
Enlightenment - Concerto for solo percussion P.Q. Phan
and mixed ensemble (in 3 movements)
(1994)
The Society for New Music
Brian Kendrick - percussion
James Krehbiel - violin
Richard Eckert - cello
John Oberbrunner - flute
John Lathwell - oboe
Barbara Rabin - clarinet
Steven Heyman - piano
E. Michael Richards - conductor
****INTERMISSION****
Pieces for Prepared Piano and Strings Toshiro Mayuzumi
(b.1929)
Prologue
Interlude
Finale
The Society for New Music
Kazuko Tanosaki - piano
James Krehbiel - violin
Nicholas Ross -violin
Laura Klugherz - viola
Richard Eckert - cello
E. Michael Richards - conductor
Voice for solo flutist Toru Takemitsu
(1971) (1930-96)
Asako Arai - flute
*Winner of the First Music of Japan Performers Competition*
Reflection III for Orchestra Harue Kunieda
(1997) (b.1958)
commissioned by the Hamilton College Orchestra
E. Michael Richards - conductor
*****PREMIERE*****
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Two aspects of metacommunication have interested me. One is the distinction between verbal information and the information carried by a speaker's tone of voice. For example, one cannot say 'pardon me' arrogantly without undercutting the original meaning of the phrase. This aspect is closest to musical information carried by the speed and intensity of pitches. The second aspect which I have explored is closest to timbre (color) in music. It is found in onomatopoeia. For example, the term 'ping-pong' carries sonic information, and most listeners hear the word as high- low in pitch.
My Observations on Weather Forecasts demonstrates one example of exploration of metacommunication. In this piece, intense emotional expression is superimposed on what is usually understood to be dry and objective verbal description.
In his book, Hidden Dimensions, Edward T. Hall defines four different communicative distances for human discourse: intimate (as lovers), personal (one-on-one), social (three or four, as at a party), and that of public address (giving a speech). To these four I have added a fifth - that which addresses the infinite (to God, for example). Calling Together is a theater piece for mixed voices which improvisationally explores the metacommunication induced at these distances; that is, the performer's tone of voice is specified according to one of these five distances, but the verbal information, in any language, is freely improvised.
Calling Together is a musical and verbal activity which, without regard for answer or response, evokes a communication-space through the medium of calling with sounds or words. It is a musical space as well as a kind of poetic space.
The work is performed and constructed according to the following rules. The plan below shows the placement and performance space for the performers. One performer each is stationed at A, B, C, and D. Five or more performers move from point to point of the pentagram, calling out at each point. At each point of the pentagram, the object of the calling is determined according to a designated distance:
Intimate distance (where it is possible to touch one another)
Personal distance (conversational space)
Social distance (distance of relationship with a group, a party, etc.)
Public distance (one vs. many, distance of a speech)
Infinite (e.g. calling out to the dead, to the unknown, or to God)"
- Joji Yuasa
The main idea of the first piece (Mirzam) is the strength of frequent harmonic changes (in a digital style). Sometimes bell sounds are added. Mirzam is the name of the star that is the second brightest star in the "big dog" constellation. This star changes brightness at 6-hour intervals.
The center of the second piece (The mystic....) is on rhythm. The performer is required to display a sensitive finger pedal technique. "St. Elmo's fire" is concerned with layers of time. The speed that sounds move, typically called tempo, changes frequently in an abrupt style. Faster and slower tempos gradually change. Many types of performance skill are required to realize this work."
-Maso Endo
The tittle is derived from the sub-title of the second movement. The dark and quiet environment of the MacDowell Colony at night time primarily impacted the formation of this movement. My fear of infinite space and time had "enlightened" me to recognize my existence in the universe as so small and insignificant. At that moment, I felt life was no more than just a great nothingness.
The first and last movements reflect my joys of discovering similarities among aspects from Vietnamese, Asian, and American popular musics. These elements then were incorporated and integrated into an orgy of sounds that randomly reflected my feelings at times.
The idea of using a set of multi-instruments was inspired by the traditional practice in Vietnamese percussion music."
-P.Q. Phan
The Pieces for Prepared Piano and String Quartet was conducted by Yolchiro Omachi at the Berlin Festival of the Arts in 1959. Mayuzumi has consistently experimented with new ideas and techniques, and was responsible for the introduction to Japan of practically all European trends in new music since World War II. These have included musique concrete, synthetic electronic music, and, in the Pieces, the prepared piano! Pieces of rubber and both large and small screws are used to prepare 15 pitches in this work. The resulting sounds demonstrate Mayuzumi's interest in campanology (the study of bell sounds). The writing for strings is also related not only to the buddhist bell in its use of space, overtone structure, and subtle timbre changes (sul ponticello, col legno), but to the Japanese sho (a wind instrument used in court music) through the carefully chosen string harmonies (especially in the Finale).
"Autumn of the ear" (Kazue Shinkawa; translated by Atsushi Fukai) Wrapped in the voices of insects A thought comes to mind Within the deepness of the universe, perhaps exists an unknown planet Where there, too, Insects are singing Turning off the lights And while laying still It begins to sound Like that still resounding in the depths of the ear Voices of insects from the past Fall The ear's memory? It is rather a memory of the universe That from light years of distance Arrives this evening As a voice that choruses the autumn insects....
Students of Music 204: Students of Music 107:
(Music of the Twentieth Century) (The Musical Process)
Leah Bridgers Aaron Armstrong
Ann Carey Mark Barsanti
Atsushi Fukai Lisa Berrus
James Halter Amanda Chaimovich
Mathew Kane Sal Clark
Colten Noakes Brent Davey
Preeta Samarasan Scott DeBruin
Chris Vogth-Eriksen Kristen Donofrio
Caryl Wedding Sylvie Drouin
Robert Whelan Robert Flint
Erica Gately
Chris Holt
Clare Lubiner
Timothy McBrien
Katy Peng
Jeffrey Peters
Bill Pyles
Sam Richardson
Catherine Rotolo
Lee Rubenstein
Brian Sahler
Lynne Salkin
Frank Sally
Sarah Singer
As a member of the Tanosaki-Richards Duo, Ms. Tanosaki has presented lectures and performances at 8 international festivals and more than 20 universities, including the San Francisco Conservatory, UC Berkeley, and the Hartt School of Music. They were recently visiting artists in residence at the University of Massachusetts, and performed a double concerto with the Japan Shinsei Philharmonic (Tokyo). The Tanosaki-Richards Duo has been recorded on the Opus One label, and just released a CD of new music of Japanese composers on Ninewinds.
Hugh Livingston graduated cum laude from Yale College in 1990 with a BA in music, and was the recipient of the Yale Bach Society Prize for Excellence in Musicianship and Contribution to Musical Life at Yale. He is a member of UC Berkeley's Center for New Music and Audio Technologies Ensemble, Yale's Center for Studies in Music Technology, the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, KSDT radio San Diego, and is the United States editor of the international contemporary arts publication, The Paris New Music Review. Hugh's book and accompanying CD of musical examples, a composer's guide for contemporary cello technique with tools and etudes for performers, will be available in the summer of 1997. The CD Strings and Machines, featuring newly commissioned works for solo cello and electronics, will be released in March 1997.
Brian Kendrick, percussionist, performs in a wide range of musical styles on jazz drum set, African and Afro-Cuban drums, contemporary solo percussion, and marimba. A resident of Syracuse, New York, he maintains an active performance schedule, including the Syracuse Society for New Music, Salt City Jazz Collective (Big Band), Blue Norther (contemporary jazz quartet), and the Lyman Strong Trio. He has performed across the United States and Europe with Symphony West, Henry Mancini, Steve Kujala, Tom Brown, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Talking Drums Percussion Trio. Mr. Kendrick has a master of music degree from Texas Tech University, maintains a teaching studio, and is currently an Affiliate Artist at the Syracuse University School of Music.
The Society for New Music, now in its twenty-fifth season, was originally established to fill an artistic void in Central New York. Under the guidance of founding member Neva Pilgrim, the Society has grown and is presently governed by a 50-member Board of Directors representing a wide cross-section of the Central New York community. The organization has become a model for regional new music presenters in that composers and performers work together to present concerts and festivals.
The Society has received Chamber Music America/ASCAP Programming Awards for its 1988-89, 1991-2 and 1994-5 programs, was awarded the American Composers Alliance "Laurel Leaf" Award in 1994, and twice nominated by musicians in Central New York for a Sammy Award.
In its six-concert Winter Series in Syracuse, three-concert Cazenovia Summer Music Series which is repeated in Ithaca, touring programs throughout central New York, bonus free concerts, school concerts, masterclasses, and participation in JazzFest, the Society for New Music presents the best of a wide range of contemporary music and, through its newsletter SOCIETY NEWS, strives to inform and interest the public at the cutting-edge of new music. The Society offers special opportunities for composers, e.g. the Brian Israel Prize to a composer under 30, and for performers, students, and the audience by creating a close cooperation among those groups, as well as recording works by commissioned composers (Spectrum 2, Opus One [American Record Guide: "highly recommended"], and Redwood). The Society began producing a weekly radio program, "Fresh Ink," for WCNY-FM and its affiliates in May 1996.
Since 1989, Ms. Arai resides in Mexico City where she has appeared as a soloist with the Fine Arts Chamber Orchestra and with La Camerata. Currently, she dedicates herself to chamber music, serving as the flutist of the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, La Camerata, Trio Avante and Atril 5, and has recorded several compact discs with these groups. She has participated in various important music festivals including the International Cervantino Festival, Contemporary Music Forum and the Franco Donatoni Contemporary Music Festival. Apart from her performance activities, her academic career includes the presentation of lectures and an article published in "Spectrum", a journal of the University of Hartford. Ms. Arai has given flute and general music classes in the State University of New York at Stony Brook, as well as flute and chamber music master classes throughout the Mexican Republic. She is currently a professor at one of the music conservatories in Mexico City.
Sarah Cook - manager
E. Michael Richards - conductor
VIOLIN -
Jennifer Bogdanski
Sara Bosworth, PRINCIPAL
Leah Bridgers
Ann Carey
Amanda Chaimovitch
Mike Cleveland
Atsushi Fukai
Amanda Gilmore
Kati Grant
Ian Hughes
Mathew Kane
Tamara Kocivar
Ann McIntyre
Colten Noakes
Nick Ross
Amy Sauer
Emily Schulman
Rebecca Stevens
Ray Zoeckler
VIOLA -
Matthew Batt, PRINCIPAL
Laura Buonamici
Cassia Furman
Tamara Green
Meghan Hallock
Anne Heger
Adrienne Sommerville
Marshall Wong
Amy Zelinsky
CELLO -
Tracey Domser
Richard Eckert**
Sarah Hendee
Erin Hoebel
Jeffrey Kolb, PRINCIPAL
Serena Laws
Irena Papkov
Megan Robinson
Christopher Stenstrom
Alex Vaughan
Jennifer Warzala
BASS -
Tim Blinkhorn
Joe Karwacki
David Perry
Wynne Zimmerman
HARP -
Christina Kaiser
FLUTE -
Jennifer L. Harmon
Kathryn O'Donnell
OBOE -
Aylwin Chick
Anne Egger
CLARINET -
Caryl Wedding
Jennifer Jefferson
BASSOON -
Sarah Cook
Genevieve Hower
HORN -
Kerri Goldberg
Rori Dawes
Julia Clay
Ilse Brink-Button
TRUMPET -
Jeff Goralnick
Jenny Scharfeld
TROMBONE -
Kemp Bundy
Paul Damaske
TUBA -
Robert McKenna
PERCUSSION -
Jeffrey Ranen
Mike Cirmo
Brian Kendrick
** - Hamilton College faculty member - Department of Music; String Coach for the OrchestraThe HAMILTON COLLEGE ORCHESTRA was founded in 1970 and has grown to include more than 60 students. The Orchestra has undertaken four concert tours within the last 8 years - one by invitation of the governments of Romania and Bulgaria to tour those countries for fourteen days. The group has also received an invitation to perform in Japan, for which financing is currently being sought. The Orchestra has performed with internationally renowned bassist, Bertram Turetzky; virtuoso performer of the koto, Nanae Yoshimura; and commissioned and premiered new works for orchestra by Masataka Matsuo (of Tokyo), Richard Boulanger, Masao Honma (of Sendai, Japan), and Samuel Pellman, Professor of Music at Hamilton. The Orchestra and Mr. Boulanger's work (for radio baton, computer, and orchestra) were featured on Syracuse TV (Channel 5 News) and in an article by the Associated Press. Mr. Matsuo's work was recorded by the Orchestra for an Opus One CD (released Feb. 1996). A recent review in Fanfare Magazine (an international journal) stated: "Hamilton College is a small liberal arts school of only 1650 students; for them to field a seventy- piece symphony orchestra that can handle such a complex modern work is a staggering achievement."
E. MICHAEL RICHARDS, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Programs, has directed the Orchestra since 1984 when he arrived at Hamilton after a year as Conductor of Instrumental Ensembles at Bowdoin College. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, holds master's degrees from Yale University and Smith College, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. Richards has been recognized for his work as a conductor and clarinetist with a 1990 U.S./Japan Creative Artist Fellowship for a six-month residency in Japan, jointly supported by the governments of Japan and the United States. He has also received a NEH Summer Fellowship to study traditional Japanese music and a grant from the Camargo Foundation to complete a book - The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century. Richards has presented lectures and performances with pianist Kazuko Tanosaki (Lecturer in Music at Hamilton) at 8 international festivals and more than 20 universities, including the San Francisco Conservatory, UC Berkeley, the Hartt School of Music, and Eastman School of Music. They recently performed Masataka Matsuo's Double Concerto (Hirai V) with the Shinsei Japan Philharmonic under Kazumasa Watanabe, and have recorded the work with the Hamilton College Orchestra (composer conducting) for an Opus One CD. They have released (January 1997) a CD of new Japanese music for clarinet and piano through Nine Winds Records.
The Tanosaki-Richards Duo has performed at the 1996 International Clarinet Association conference in Paris (France), at FUNMusic 1996 in Urbana, Illinois, at the 1997 SCI National Conference in Miami, and served as visiting artists in residence at the University of Massachusetts (Oct. 1996). They have been invited to perform at Itinerari '97 in Rome (Italy).
Upcoming Performances by the Hamilton College Orchestra -
April 26, 1997 - music of Lalo, Faure, Copland, Beethoven, & Mussorgsky/Ravel -
featuring cellist Richard Eckert, violinist Sara Bosworth ('97), and
violinist Mathew Kane ('97)
- Wellin Hall, Hamilton College - 8 PM (Saturday)